West Java councillors suspected of bribery<\/p>\n
BANDUNG (JP): The chairman of a West Java Council special
\ncommittee auditing the annual accountability report of Governor
\nR. Nuriana has denied allegations that bribery took place in
\norder to facilitate the approval of the report.<\/p>\n
Committee chairman Tarmudji, when asked by journalists,
\nvehemently denied the allegations, saying they were merely
\nrumors.<\/p>\n
\"I don't know, it's just rumors,\" claimed Tarmudji, who is a
\ncouncillor from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
\nPerjuangan).<\/p>\n
Allegations of bribery have been rife at the council in the
\npast few weeks, with some council members quietly urging the
\ncouncil to investigate the matter.<\/p>\n
A member of the special committee, who asked not to be named,
\nclaimed on Thursday that Rp 10 million was offered to each of the
\n30 members of the committee to accept the accountability report.<\/p>\n
\"Some received it (the money) and some rejected,\" the
\ncouncillor said.<\/p>\n
The special committee's deputy chairman Rizal Fadillah
\nadmitted that he had also \"heard\" of the alleged bribes given
\nunder the pretext of a present, which is commonly referred to
\nhere as kadeudeuh (a token of appreciation).<\/p>\n
Rizal insisted that he had never accepted such a \"gift\", but
\nadmitted that he had been made an offer both before and after the
\naccountability report was accepted.<\/p>\n
The committee finished its task in April, and the governor's
\naccountability report was accepted by a majority of councillors
\nin a plenary session in early May.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, chairman of the Justice Faction at the council Yudi
\nWidiana Adia said he had also heard of the alleged bribe, and had
\nspoken with Council Speaker Eka Santosa about it.<\/p>\n
Yudi said Eka told him that he did not know anything about the
\nmoney.<\/p>\n
\"I (also) spoke with Reza Nasrullah, a Justice Faction member
\nwho sits on the committee, not to take any money,\" Yudi said.<\/p>\n
Separately, Reza maintained that he had never accepted such
\nmoney, claiming that he was financially secure with the official
\nhonorarium he received as a committee member, besides his regular
\nmonthly salary.<\/p>\n
\"If there are any 'bonuses', we should ask where are they
\nfrom,\" he remarked.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, lawyer from Bandung-based Padjadjaran University
\nIndra Perwira pointed out that such money, under any guise, was
\nclearly prohibited by law, citing Law No. 11\/1980 on bribery.
\n(25\/emf)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/west-java-councillors-suspected-of-bribery-1447893297",
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